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Yet he never compromised the truth, and never pandered to the prejudices of princes or of the populace.

The hymn, beginning with

"When, bending o'er the brink of life,'

appeared in the October (1805) Number of the London Evangelical Magazine; and in the May Number, 1806, was published his well-known hymn,

"Return, O wanderer! return," etc.

The following hymn is a pleasing specimen of his style:

"Soft be the gently breathing notes,

That sing the Saviour's dying love;
Soft as the evening zephyr floats,
Soft as the tuneful lyres above.

Soft as the morning dews descend,
While the sweet lark exulting soars,

So soft to your almighty Friend,
Be every sigh your bosom pours.

"Pure as the sun's enlivening ray,
That scatters life and joy abroad;
Pure as the lucid car of day

That wide proclaims its Maker-God.

"True as the magnet to the pole,

So pure let your contrition be,—
So true let all your sorrows roll,
To him who bled upon the tree."

JOSIAH CONDER.

1789-1855.

JOSIAH CONDER was the son of a publisher, and became himself successively a publisher, an editor, an author, and a compiler. He was a thorough Nonconformist, a staunch

supporter of dissent, and a man of mark and weight. He was the grandson of the Rev. Dr. John Conder (1715–1781), the first theological Professor of Homerton College, of which Institution, Thomas, the father of Josiah, was the Treasurer. The home of Thomas, engraver and bookseller, was in Falcon St., Aldersgate, London, where, September 17, 1759, Josiah, the fourth son and sixth child, was born.

At the age of five, he lost his right eye, by small-pox, for which he had been inoculated. He was sent to Mr. Palmer, of Hackney, to be treated with electricity, and remained with him as a scholar. He made rapid progress in study (French and Latin included), but at fifteen he was taken into his father's store. His association with books and bookish people helped forward his education. His first poetic venture, "The Withered Oak," was contributed to the Athenæum; and, in 1810, he united with the Misses Anne and Jane Taylor, Miss Eliza Thomas (subsequently, his wife), and others, in publishing a volume of Poems, entitled, "The Associate Minstrels." A second edition was published (1812), in which appeared his "Reverie," one of his best poems. The same year he contributed three hymns to Dr. Collyer's Collection, one of them a version of the 23d Psalm.

Two years later (1814), he became the proprietor, publisher, and editor, of the Eclectic Review, founded (1805) by Adam Clarke, Robert Hall, John Foster, and their associates. He was thus brought into correspondence and intimate relations with some of the most powerful writers of the age. He married (1815) Miss Eliza Thomas, herself a gifted poet, and a granddaughter (maternally) of Roubiliac, the sculptor. He issued (1818) two volumes "On Protestant Nonconformity," and an additional volume, the next year.

Having become addicted to village-preaching, he published, in 1822, “The Village Lecturer: Original Discourses for Village Congregations." In 1824, he published "The Star in the East; with other Poems." A part of the first poem had been published in 1812. The book included

"Religious, Domestic, and Miscellaneous Poems." During the next seven years he was laboriously occupied in editing the "Modern Traveller" (an excellent compilation of the works of recent travellers), in 33 volumes, several of which were written by himself (1830-1831). In conjunction with Mr. J. M. Hare, he started (1832) The Patriot, a London Weekly, with which he was connected thenceforth as long as he lived.

He published, also, "The Law of the Sabbath" (1830); a "History of Italy," a "Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Geography," and "The Epistle to the Hebrews; a new Translation" (1834); "The Choir and the Oratory; or, Praise and Prayer” (1837); “Analytical and Comparative View of all Religions" (1838); "Literary History of the New Testament" (1845); "The Harmony of History with Prophecy an Exposition of the Apocalypse" (1849); and "The Poet of the Sanctuary" (1850). He was occupied in correcting the last proof-sheets of his "Hymns of Praise, Prayer, and Devout Meditation," when (December 27, 1855) his work was interrupted by death, which overtook him at his house in St. John's Wood, London. The work was issued early in 1856, by his son, the Rev. Eustace R. Conder.

In connection with a supervising committee appointed by the Congregational Union of England and Wales (May, 1833), he prepared and published (1836), "The Congregational Hymn-Book: A Supplement to Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns," containing sixty-two of his own hymns. Great liberty was taken with the text, resulting very properly in great dissatisfaction. A new Compilation was ordered (1855) before he died. In 1851, he produced a revised edition of Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns, in which, also, with similar license, he attempted to correct and improve "The Poet of the Sanctuary."

During the greater part of his business life, Mr. Conder was much perplexed by pecuniary embarrassments, the effect of which continually appears in his devotional poetry. The hymn,

"O thou God, who hearest prayer," etc.,

was written (1820), when he was suffering from a fall from a horse. The following stanzas were evidently written under the pressure of worldly straits:

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As a counterpart of Charlotte Elliott's very popular and useful hymn,

the hymn,

"Just as I am, without one plea," etc.,

"Just as thou art-without one trace," etc.,

has found its way into many recent Books of Praise. It first appeared in the American Messenger (a monthly paper, issued by the American Tract Society, New York), for March, 1850. Its author, the Rev. Russell S. Cook, was, at the time, one of the Secretaries of the Society.

He was born, March 6, 1811, at New Marlboro, Mass., and was favored with good advantages of education. At a

suitable age, he began the study of law at Syracuse, N. Y., but, having become deeply interested in religion, he abandoned the law for the ministry. In 1832, he entered the Junior Class of the Theological Seminary at Auburn, N. Y. He finished his course of study in 1834, married a daughter of the Rev. Henry Mills, D.D. (one of the Seminary Professors), and was ordained, January 13, 1837, pastor of the Congregational Church of Lanesborough, Mass. At the expiration of a year, the loss of voice by bronchial disease compelled him to resign his charge. He then became an Agent of the American Tract Society, New York, and at the Annual Meeting in May, 1839, he was chosen one of its Corresponding Secretaries. Mainly through his agency, the Colportage Department of the Society was organized in 1841, to which he devoted himself, as "Secretary of Colportage."

In the advocacy of this work, he started, in 1843, the American Messenger, a monthly paper, of which he became the editor. Much of his time, for years, was given to the work of journeying from city to city, and in attendance on ecclesiastical and other public meetings, all over the United States. He made free use, also, of the religious press, in urging the claims of the cause. He visited Europe in 1853, and presented it, with success, to the British public. A second time, July, 1856, he was compelled to go abroad, in broken health, and made extensive inquiries in relation to the observance of the Sabbath in the Old World. At Geneva, he married a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Cæsar Malan. Three wives had successively been taken from him by death. His fourth wife survived him. He resigned (May, 1857) the Secretaryship of the Tract Society, and on his return to America, in the autumn, was appointed Secretary of the New York Sabbath Committee, and for nearly six years did good service in the cause, as appears from the "Occasional Papers" published by the Committee. In the spring of 1863, he labored assiduously in the organization of the "Christian Commission," lost his health, visited Florida the next winter, and then the sea-coast of Maine,

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